Update: I was unfortunately not aware of Shamus Young's severe criticism of Fallout 3 available here to link in the original piece and I regret that. It dovetails rather nicely with what I've written and it's much better executed than my piece. I strongly recommend anyone...

Mechwarrior
2 Review

"Targets Identified."

Star Commander Darian Malthus punched up the coordinates of his primary
target on his on board computer. Just as he expected, Wolf Mechs were
swarming all over the small congregation of buildings that was Nav Epsilon.
With his Starmate missing his left arm due to a lucky blast from a
particle cannon, Darian debated his options quickly in his mind and slammed
the throttle to full, sending his Summoner into a bounding gait over the
rocky terrain of Colmar. A Kit Fox crested the hill in front of him, its
distinctive outline presenting itself to Darian. 3... 2... The streak
system registered a lock on the small, swift Omnimech... 1... Darian
depressed the trigger and sent a barrage of twelve short range missiles
into the light mech's right leg, crippling it. Bringing his arm-mounted
weapons to bear, Darian followed up with his hexagonal laser cluster,
watching both the heat spikes on his heads up display and the fireball of
his opponent's fusion engine released. That'll teach that Warden for
interfering with the mandate of Kerensky.

Grab your neurohelmet and strap yourself into a multiton metal behemoth as
Activision's hot-selling Mechwarrior 2 makes its way to the
Macintosh. With all the explosive action of the PC version, Mechwarrior 2
for Macintosh chronicles the career of a young Clan mechwarrior as he (or
she) defends their honor and rises through the ranks of the dominant Clan
Wolf or the crusading Clan Jade Falcon. They jockey for position in the 30
lightyears of known space, all the while trying to capture the most
glorious prize of all, Earth itself. Stunning graphics, mesmerizing video
sequences, thundering sound-effects, and an impressive musical score
package a game with an outstanding plot and unbelievably smooth engine.

Based on FASA's Battletech tabletop miniature game,
Mechwarrior takes place in the late 3050's, after a thrust from a
merciless outsider threatens civilization as humankind knows it by using
unsurpassed technology and superior military tactics. Though momentarily
halted in their quest for Terra, the invading Clans have begun waging war
among themselves for territorial holdings throughout the Inner Sphere. It
is an age of war, and you are caught in the midst of it.

As a novice Clan mechwarrior, you are called to do your duty to your clan
as you progress through dozens of missions, taking out key strategic
targets and enemy mechwarriors with a variety of weapons at your disposal.
Each mission is customizable, as you can select the mech you feel most
comfortable with and configure its weapons, engine, and armor to however
you want. Sometimes another warrior accompanies your forays into hostile
territory, augmenting your firepower somewhat, though the friendly AI
suffers in comparison to that of the opposing forces.

Graphicswise, everything during a mission is done in polygons. Though the
fact that they're untextured may seem a liability, it actually makes the
scenery very uncluttered when a dozen enemy mechs dash across your monitor,
each with their own distinctive markings, firing lasers and missiles as you
scamper through the gauntlet on your way to the next nav point. An
intricate heads up display governs the functions of your battlemech,
showing attitude, armor status, heat buildup, jump jet readiness, weapon
status, and enemy mech profile. For even more clarity, you can switch to
low-light amplification or an enhanced imaging targeting system, which
shows only the outlines of structures and opponents, including recorded
damage. Be warned, though, because if you're right next to a building with
enhanced imaging on, you may keep running into it without even knowing it's
there.

With a soundtrack that puts the player right into the thick of things and
sound effects that cause you to wince every time a missile flight embeds
itself into your mech, the sound on Mechwarrior 2 clearly screams
out for a good set of speakers; nothing less would do it any justice. Add
that to a superb game engine and a highly challenging, fluid plot, and
Activision's Mechwarrior 2 has all the trappings of a classic.